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NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans' data with Israel
really, there's no need to keep reading. despite the guardian's disclaimer, the implication is clear: the NSA is spying on the congress and the judiciary. long-time readers of this journal may recall that the possibility that the executive might track the congress and the Supremes was something the Supremes brought up during oral arguments about US v Jones. they weren't happy that warrantless GPS tracking might allow that, so i can only imagine their displeasure at finding out that the executive has been intercepting their calls... and email... and web browsing habits.
suddenly, i've gone from wondering if the Supremes will grant EPIC's mandamus petition to wondering if any part of the so-called "patriot" act will survive their extremely broad ruling on that petition.
The National Security Agency routinely shares raw intelligence data with Israel without first sifting it to remove information about US citizens, a top-secret document provided to the Guardian by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveals.
Details of the intelligence-sharing agreement are laid out in a memorandum of understanding between the NSA and its Israeli counterpart that shows the US government handed over intercepted communications likely to contain phone calls and emails of American citizens. The agreement places no legally binding limits on the use of the data by the Israelis.
The disclosure that the NSA agreed to provide raw intelligence data to a foreign country contrasts with assurances from the Obama administration that there are rigorous safeguards to protect the privacy of US citizens caught in the dragnet. The intelligence community calls this process "minimization", but the memorandum makes clear that the information shared with the Israelis would be in its pre-minimized state.
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...The memorandum says: "Raw Sigint includes, but is not limited to, unevaluated and unminimized transcripts, gists, facsimiles, telex, voice and Digital Network Intelligence metadata and content."
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The memorandum of understanding, which the Guardian is publishing in full, allows Israel to retain "any files containing the identities of US persons" for up to a year. The agreement requests only that the Israelis should consult the NSA's special liaison adviser when such data is found.
Notably, a much stricter rule was set for US government communications found in the raw intelligence. The Israelis were required to "destroy upon recognition" any communication "that is either to or from an official of the US government". Such communications included those of "officials of the executive branch (including the White House, cabinet departments, and independent agencies), the US House of Representatives and Senate (member and staff) and the US federal court system (including, but not limited to, the supreme court)".
It is not clear whether any communications involving members of US Congress or the federal courts have been included in the raw data provided by the NSA, nor is it clear how or why the NSA would be in possession of such communications. In 2009, however, the New York Times reported on "the agency's attempt to wiretap a member of Congress, without court approval, on an overseas trip".
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really, there's no need to keep reading. despite the guardian's disclaimer, the implication is clear: the NSA is spying on the congress and the judiciary. long-time readers of this journal may recall that the possibility that the executive might track the congress and the Supremes was something the Supremes brought up during oral arguments about US v Jones. they weren't happy that warrantless GPS tracking might allow that, so i can only imagine their displeasure at finding out that the executive has been intercepting their calls... and email... and web browsing habits.
suddenly, i've gone from wondering if the Supremes will grant EPIC's mandamus petition to wondering if any part of the so-called "patriot" act will survive their extremely broad ruling on that petition.